by Kira Archer
“You guys act like it’s hard,” Chris said, glancing around at the other men who were almost entirely covered in powder with babies no reasonable person would deem properly covered.
Brooks looked at Cole and Harrison. “He’s much too clean. I don’t think he got any powder on his baby at all.”
Harrison nodded. “We’d better check.”
Chris didn’t stand a chance. Three minutes later and he was seated on the sofa beside the others, powdered head to toe.
“At least they smell good,” Kiersten muttered to Leah, who had to choke off a laugh when Brooks mock-glared at her.
Present time was much more fun. The women sat around in a group ooing and ahhing over each gift. The men on the other hand got to hang out in the kitchen drinking.
“Now this is my kind of game,” Brooks said.
From the women’s circle someone squealed, “Oh, how precious,” and all the men said, “Shot!”
With the amount of times that phrase was being thrown about the room, they were all going to be too drunk to walk out the door by the time the party was over.
“Don’t get too hammered,” Kiersten called into the kitchen. “I’ve got a job for you boys.”
They all turned and blinked at her like a bunch of meerkats watching for predators.
She pointed to a large box in the corner of the room sitting next to a tool box.
“Marcus couldn’t make it, but he sent a gift. He said he’d put it together later, but since you are all here…”
“We’ve got it handled,” Brooks said. No way was he letting Marcus show him up by getting the best gift in the room and being the hero that put it together, too.
“What is it?” he finally thought to ask.
“That’s the crib,” she said. “Get to it.”
The men slowly approached the box like it was a snake poised to strike.
“Have you ever put one of these together before?” Brooks asked Cole.
He snorted. “Hell, no. I attempted once. For about five minutes. Then I figured my wife and child would rather have me alive and sane, so I hired someone to come in and put it together for me. Plus, Kiersten threatened to divorce me if I didn’t. Then she added a clause to the prenup forbidding me to attempt to assemble furniture ever again.”
“Wonderful,” Harrison said.
Chris frowned at it. “It can’t be that hard.”
The women chose that moment to start giggling at something. Brooks was pretty sure it wasn’t related to their conversation. Well, maybe about eighty percent sure. Okay, fifty. They giggled again. Okay, they were laughing at them.
“Piece of cake,” Brooks said.
Cole looked over at him, one eyebrow raised. “I hope you were referring to the fact that you want a piece of actual cake. Because if you were talking about this thing being easy to put together, then you really are out of your damn mind.”
“Come on, guys, seriously. It’s one stupid little crib. There are four of us. How hard can this be?”
There was blood before they even got the thing out of the box. Chris sliced his finger cutting the box open and was now sitting with it wrapped over in the penalty box. Well, really he was over on the couch with the ladies. But for their purposes, they were calling it the penalty box. And since Chris tended to be the Golden Boy who did everything perfectly, Brooks had more than a sneaking suspicion that the ass had purposely cut his finger to get out of setting up the crib. Brooks wished he’d thought of that first.
But the rest of them hung in there. Although there were two more cut fingers, a smashed thumb, and at least forty-three inappropriate curses before they had the entire thing unpacked and laid out in neat rows so they could see all the pieces.
“These instructions are in Chinese,” Harrison said, throwing the paper at Brooks.
“Don’t you speak Chinese?” Cole asked.
“Not well enough to understand those,” Harrison said, flipping off the paper. “Besides, that’s not really Chinese, it’s English. Just really tiny print. And I don’t speak English well enough to understand those, either.”
“Look,” Brooks said, pointing to the sheets of paper. “There are pictures. How hard can this be?”
“You need to stop saying that,” Cole said. “Every time you do someone nearly slices something off.”
Harrison yelped with a muffled curse and stuck his finger in his mouth.
“See,” Cole said.
Brooks frowned at the incomprehensible instructions in his hand. “Come on, guys, we have to figure this out, or the poor kid is going to be sleeping on the floor.” And Marcus would drop by to save the day and there was no way in hell Brooks would let that fly if he could help it.
There were a few more moans and groans, but the guys finally rallied and got the thing marginally put together. Sure, there were a few pieces left over when they were done, but it looked pretty decent.
“Get in it,” Cole said.
Harrison shook his head and held up his hands, walking away slowly.
Brooks narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what sort of sinister plan Cole had in mind.
Cole rolled his eyes. “I’m not trying to trick you. It’s just a test. Make sure it’s sturdy enough.”
“I think the baby is going to be a good deal smaller than I am,” Brooks said.
“Well, of course. That’s why you climb in. If it will support your weight then it will definitely support the baby.”
That sounded fairly reasonable. As did Harrison’s suggestion that if they wanted to make extra sure it was sturdy maybe they should try it out with two of them. Which is what they tried to explain to Kiersten and Leah when they wandered over and found Cole and Brooks cuddled up together in the crib.
Brooks explained the whole thing and pointed at Harrison.
“It was his idea. He said he read an article about crib manufacturing that recommended using at least three hundred pounds to test the crib’s safety. So we had to get two of us in here. Tell them.”
Harrison just shook his head. “I don’t know what they’re talking about. I think they just wanted to cuddle.”
Then he took off running.
Smart move really because Cole did an impressive vault out of the crib and took off after him. Brooks turned to Leah with a grin. “So, how are things going on your side?”
…
Leah tried not to smile. It only encouraged him. But really, it was impossible to keep it together. She laughed and shook her head. “We’re having fun, though not as much as you’re having over here apparently.”
“Getting lots of loot?”
“Tons. Between this shower and the one the sisters and my friends at work gave me, this baby will be set for diapers for at least a year.”
Kiersten laughed at that. “Try a month.”
Brooks and Leah both blinked at her in surprise. She shrugged. “What can I say? They are little pooping machines.”
Brooks opened his mouth, no doubt to make some inappropriate joke, but was sidetracked by a crash coming from the opposite side of the apartment.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, jumping out of the crib and running full tilt to where his friends seemed to be doing their best to destroy his loft.
Leah just looked at Kiersten and shook her head. “It’ll be like having two toddlers in the house.”
Kiersten nodded. “True, but that could be said of most men.”
She had said good-bye to the other guests before coming to check on the boys and Cass and Izzy helped her and Kiersten carry the gifts into Brooks’s wine room.
“Is this going to be the nursery?” Izzy asked, looking around at the dark wood, humidors, and racks of wine bottles.
Leah shook her head and folded her arms, looking around. “We haven’t discussed it. But it’s the only available room in the house. Well, the only room with a door anyway. The master suite is upstairs, but down here is all open. I’m not comfortable putting my baby in a room filled with glass bot
tles full of alcohol. And Brooks isn’t comfortable getting rid of any of it.”
“Translate to mean, he flat-out refused?” Izzy asked.
“Yep.”
“Why don’t you guys get a new place?” Kiersten asked.
That would be the sensible thing to do. But again, she and Brooks hadn’t discussed it. They hadn’t discussed anything actually. They hadn’t discussed whether they’d stay with the original plan and be done with the whole marriage thing once the peanut arrived or whether they were in an actual, real relationship now. Whether he wanted to be a stepfather. Whether he wanted Leah and the baby to continue to live with him once the baby came. How things were going to work with Marcus in the picture. If they’d work, because Brooks and Marcus, despite the polite smiles, did not seem to enjoy being around each other. All things that needed to be decided, and soon. And all things that Leah was afraid to discuss with him.
But her friends were looking at her, waiting for an answer, so she shrugged. “We haven’t discussed that, either. I know he really likes it here.”
“Well, unless you’re planning on strapping the baby to the pool table, you guys might want to think about getting a more kid-friendly place,” Cass said.
“I know,” Leah said.
Izzy and Cass gave her hugs before heading out. “You call us when that baby is born,” Izzy said.
“I will,” she said, walking them out.
“That was nice of them to come,” she said to Kiersten after they left.
“It was good to see them. It’s been a while. They’ve been out jet-setting since we won that money. Although it looks like Cass may be ready to settle down.”
“Chris certainly seems head over heels for her.”
“Speaking of men who are head over heels, how are things with Brooks?”
Leah snorted. “Not head over heels.”
“Are you sure about that?” Kiersten asked, nodding over in the direction of the boys.
They were now standing around the kitchen counter with beers, but Brooks’s gaze kept straying over to her.
“He can’t keep his eyes off you,” Kiersten said.
“That’s not love, that’s hormones.”
“I thought you were the one who was supposed to have the hormone problems.”
Leah laughed. “Yeah, well he must be doing sympathy pains then. I can’t seem to shake him.”
Kiersten raised her eyebrows. “Do you want to?”
Warmth spread through her cheeks but she shook her head with a grin. “Not really, no.”
“So it’s going good then?”
“Better than I thought.”
“But…”
Leah sighed. “I wish I knew what he wanted. Where he wants this to go. If he wants it to go anywhere. Or if he even knows. And with Marcus always hanging around now, things are kind of…weird. Awkward. He’s always doing nice things for me, bringing me stuff, and seems really invested in the baby. Though he does bail every time his phone rings. And don’t get me wrong, I’m happy he wants to be so involved. I just wish he and Brooks got along better. And that I knew what the hell Brooks is thinking about Marcus and all the rest of this.”
“Well, you know there’s only one way to find out, right?”
She took a deep breath and blew it out. “Yeah, I know. Freaking communication.”
Kiersten laughed at that. “That sounds about right.” She glanced around the room again. “And you might want to make that talk quick. You guys need to figure out what page you’re on so you can do something about your living arrangements. Or you’re going to be tucking your baby in at night between a couple of wine bottles.”
“Wine,” Leah said wistfully. “I really miss wine.”
Kiersten giggled. “Miss it all you want, but I don’t think you want to have your baby shacking up with it.”
“This is true.”
She knew Kiersten had a point. The baby would be there soon, and they didn’t have anything figured out yet. She wanted things settled before the baby came, and that meant she was going to have to have a conversation or two. Hopefully they went well.
She wasn’t prepared to deal with the consequences if they didn’t.
Chapter Nineteen
“So, how’s it going with the little lady?” Harrison asked, dealing out the cards.
Brooks glanced up and gathered his hand.
“That well, huh?”
Cole nodded at him. “What’s going on?”
Brooks released a deep sigh. It wasn’t something he’d planned on getting into. Poker night was his opportunity to escape from All Things Domestic. Although lately with Cole and Kiersten and their new baby, and Chris in a fairly serious relationship for once in his life, and Brooks sort of married with a baby on the way, a lot of their conversation had been taking a domestic turn.
Harrison, the odd man out as the only unattached one in the group, didn’t mind, although he did seem to view them all as strange and pitiful zoo creatures that he enjoyed observing from the outside but had no intention of getting close to for fear they were contagious.
“Things are going great. When Marcus isn’t around. Except he always seems to be around now,” Brooks said.
“Well, that’s a good thing, right? That he wants to be there for his child,” Chris said.
“Sure. Except this is Marcus we’re talking about. I don’t know if he’s there because he wants to be there for Leah and the baby, or if he’s there to screw with me. He’s got to be loving that he’s the father of my wife’s baby. He couldn’t have planned this any better if he’d done it on purpose. I don’t know how much longer I can deal with him.”
“Yeah, well, seeing as he’s the father, you’re going to have to get used to him. You’ll be the stepfather to his kid. If you stick around,” Cole said.
“Can you imagine having to deal with that man, having to co-raise a kid with him for eighteen years? Hell, I don’t think I could do it without another guy always trying to one-up me and get in my way. How am I supposed to do it with him pulling his usual Marcus shit? He’s already got the whole biological father thing on me. He’s been trying to work on Leah, too. And she doesn’t know him like we do. All she sees is a charming guy, with old family money, who wants to be involved in raising their kid. Who wouldn’t want that?”
Harrison shrugged. “Maybe she already has who she wants.”
Brooks glanced up. “She hasn’t said so.”
“Maybe she doesn’t know it’s an option. Have you said anything to her?” Cole asked.
“No.” Brooks shoved back from the table. “And I’m not going to.”
“Brooks,” Harrison said. “Look, I know it’s up to you, mate, but you’ve been different the last few months. In a good way.”
“Gee, thanks,” Brooks said, cracking open another beer.
“He’s right,” Cole said. “You’ve been happy. And responsible. Hell, you have showed up for every single meeting, on time, and haven’t made an inappropriate pass at anyone in months. And you’ve been happy about it. We’re going to have to revive your mother next time she comes to visit. She won’t recognize you. And we get it. A good woman will do that to you.”
“Well,” Harrison added, “they get it. I don’t want it. I’m good the way I am.”
Brooks snorted.
“But you,” Harrison continued, “I don’t think you’ve ever been happier. Who knew that being a responsible adult would be your dream come true?”
Brooks rolled his eyes. The only problem was they weren’t wrong and that was all due to Leah.
“Look,” Harrison said. “Yeah, it sucks that there is another guy in the picture. And it really sucks that guy is Marcus. However, she barely knows him. She spent one night with him. She’s been living with you as your wife for the last six and a half months. Do you really think all of that time with you means nothing?”
Yes, that’s exactly what Brooks thought, what he feared. And even if it did mean something to her, it didn�
�t change the fact that Marcus wasn’t going away. Brooks had no real rights in this situation, no place. He was her husband, sure, legally, on paper. But neither one of them had entered into the marriage with the intent of making it real, so in his mind it wasn’t. It didn’t matter how many rings he put on her finger. If she wasn’t intending to be his wife for real when he did it, they didn’t matter.
And the baby…the baby was hers. It terrified him to admit how much he cared for the little one already and she wasn’t even here yet. What kind of a mess would that be to bring her into a world where he and Marcus were locked in some eternal rivalry? Being a stepparent would be hard enough. Having to co-parent with Marcus? Having Marcus always in his life…for decades? There was no way that would work.
Brooks shook his head. “Until she wants me for real, I’m going to go on assuming that our relationship is as it started.”
“Well, maybe you should talk to her about it,” Harrison said. “She might not know she has the option of keeping you. It’s not like you have ever advertised that the whole wife and family thing was something you wanted. She probably assumes you can’t wait to get rid of her.”
The thought sent another spear of pain shooting through Brooks, but he ignored it. “It’s probably better that way, anyway,” he said. “Easier.”
“Easier for who?” Cole asked.
Before he could answer, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and glanced down at the text. Then things got very strange. Like he was looking at the phone through a long tunnel. He could hear the boys in the background, but nothing they said really registered. The only thing he could focus on were those four words blaring at him from his screen.
It’s time! Come now!
“Brooks?” Harrison said. “Did you hear me?”
“I’ve got to go,” he mumbled.
He spun to find his three best friends staring at him like he’d lost his mind. They weren’t wrong. He couldn’t think of anything but getting to Leah. But once he did…oh my God. She was having the baby. Right now. It was coming right now. But he wasn’t there. She needed him. He needed to get there. How was he going to get there? Oh yeah, he had a car. He needed to drive fast. He needed to go now.
